Nasty Named Invasive Plant Can Cause Serious Skin Burns

Poison Ivy step aside.  There is another plant that can cause severe harm, like skin burns and blindness.  It’s invasive, it’s monitored by the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, and it has recently been found all the way down in Virginia.  Giant Hogweed, the culprit plant, has already been found in New York, but was spotted for the first time in Virginia according to News 10 abc.  And according to News 10 abc, only one plant can produce up to 20,000 seeds, clearly making it a danger to spread.  In New York, Giant Hogweed has been found in multiple counties throughout the state, and as it’s invasive and dangerous, it’s illegal to propagate or sell. The sap from the plant itself can cause reactions such as burns when it interacts with the sun on your skin.  How does that happen?  Easily, I’ll tell you, because it happened to me.  Years ago, my parents had just weedwacked in their front yard (cutting apart plants and allowing sap to escape).  Me being clueless to plant dangers, and also helping them do yard work, wound up getting sap all over my legs while wearing shorts.  Thinking nothing if it, I wiped it off and just kept working.  On a nice sunny day outside doing yard work, my legs turned into huge fields of blisters.  I had to wrap my legs in gauze for over a week, and couldn’t wear pants because of the pain.  Plant dangers are no joke- I still have scars!  So if you see the Giant Hogweed, avoid it and let the DEC know.  You can see a map of plant locations and counties in New York at News 10 abc.